ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF CORN HOMINY MEAL AS A PARTIAL REPLACEMENT FOR MAIZE IN COMMERCIAL BROILER PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study evaluated the economic viability of replacing maize with corn hominy meal (CHM) at graded levels in broiler diets. One hundred and forty-four (144) day-old Anak 2000 broiler chicks were assigned to four dietary treatments in a completely randomised design (CRD), with CHM replacing maize at 0% (Diet 1, control), 20% (Diet 2), 40% (Diet 3) and 60% (Diet 4). Each treatment had three replicates of twelve birds. Prevailing market prices of feed ingredients and live birds were used for cost-benefit analysis. At the starter phase, feed cost per kilogram weight gain decreased progressively as CHM inclusion increased, with the lowest value recorded in Diet 3 (₦93.30/kg). At the finisher phase, Diet 3 also recorded the lowest feed cost per kilogram weight gain (₦95.73/kg) and lowest total feed cost per bird (₦417.20). Overall, birds fed 40% CHM generated the highest income (₦2,860.00/bird) and net profit (₦2,182.80/bird), representing a 12.84% improvement in net profit over the control. Birds fed 60% CHM performed worst economically despite having the lowest diet cost per kilogram, due to poor live weight at slaughter. It is concluded that 40% CHM inclusion is the economically optimal level for maize replacement in commercial broiler production in Nigeria.